glm-5.2
2aa6363e57
Three code commits landed a clean sweep discovered when building an
external app against the crates. This syncs the architecture specs to
match the codebase and amends the affected decisions.
ADR-064 (supersedes ADR-005): irpc was never integrated — no .rs file in
the workspace ever imported it. The wire protocol (wire.rs) is hand-rolled
length-prefixed JSON; the EventEnvelope shape was derived from the
@alkdev/pubsub TypeScript prior art (ADR-013), not from irpc. ADR-005's
premise ('irpc as the call protocol foundation') was never implemented as
stated. Superseded with a clear header; the body is kept as historical
record.
ADR-065: Connection::from_stream / from_bidi — Connection now accepts any
AsyncRead + AsyncWrite pair via ConnectionKind::Stream (yield-once
accept_bi contract: QUIC yields many streams, everything else yields one
then ConnectionClosed). Unblocks TCP+TLS, SSH channel dispatch,
WebTransport streams, and wasm streams through the same HandlerRegistry
as QUIC connections, with zero handler code changes. MockConnection /
ConnectionKind::Mock removed (tests use from_stream with sink/empty).
Stream-level Mock variants renamed to Stream (they were already generic).
Amended ADRs: ADR-003 (irpc removed from dep table), ADR-007 (from_stream
opens the server-side door; MockConnection removed), ADR-010 (TCP+TLS can
now dispatch through the registry via from_bidi; iroh 1.0 migration noted).
Updated specs: core-types.md (Connection/SendStream/RecvStream sections),
endpoint.md (TCP section, iroh note), call-protocol.md, operation-registry
(irpc Integration section replaced), overview.md, http-server.md,
webtransport.md, call README. OQ-09 (WASM) resolution amended: the
Connection door is now open via from_stream; the accept-loop runtime door
remains closed (tokio doesn't run on WASM).
See docs/research/transport-generalization/findings.md for the full trace.
78 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
78 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
# ADR-005: irpc as Call Protocol Foundation
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## Status
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~~Accepted~~ → **Superseded** by [ADR-064](064-irpc-never-integrated-hand-rolled-framing.md)
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> **Superseded 2026-07-09.** This ADR accepted "irpc as the call protocol
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> foundation" based on the previous architecture's use of irpc. When the
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> call protocol was implemented, it turned out that **no `.rs` file in the
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> workspace ever imported irpc** — the `irpc` / `irpc-derive` workspace deps
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> were a Cargo.toml entry with no corresponding import. The wire protocol
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> (`crates/alknet-call/src/protocol/wire.rs`) is hand-rolled length-prefixed
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> JSON; the `EventEnvelope` shape was derived from the `@alkdev/pubsub`
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> TypeScript prior art (ADR-013), not from irpc. ADR-064 supersedes this
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> ADR and records the actual state: hand-rolled framing, no irpc
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> integration. The architectural properties this ADR sought (proven
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> length-prefixed JSON framing, cross-language JSON wire format, streaming)
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> are preserved by the hand-rolled implementation. The text below is kept
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> as the historical record of the decision that was made (and never
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> implemented as stated).
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## Context
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The call protocol (alknet-call) provides structured RPC — operations, request/response, streaming subscriptions, and pub/sub. This is the primary interface for programmatic interaction with an alknet node. It needs to work across platforms: Rust clients, TypeScript/JavaScript clients (via NAPI), WASM targets, and any language that can speak the wire format.
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The previous implementation used `irpc` for the call protocol's operation registry, framing, and service patterns. irpc provides:
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- An operation registry with schema-based discovery
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- Length-prefixed JSON framing (EventEnvelope)
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- Request/response and streaming patterns
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- Type-safe operation definitions via derive macros
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The call protocol is derived from a TypeScript implementation (`@alkdev/operations`, `@alkdev/pubsub`) that informed the design of the operation registry, EventEnvelope framing, and adapter patterns (from_openapi, from_mcp, from_call). This bidirectional composition capability is strategically important. The TypeScript code is a reference that informed the Rust design — it is not a parallel implementation (see ADR-013).
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## Decision
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alknet-call uses irpc as its foundation. The `CallAdapter` implements `ProtocolHandler` on ALPN `alknet/call` and delegates to irpc's operation registry, framing, and dispatch.
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irpc is not replaced or wrapped in an abstraction layer — it IS the call protocol's core. The relationship is:
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- irpc provides: operation registry, schema discovery, frame encoding/decoding, request/response routing, streaming
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- alknet-call provides: the ProtocolHandler adapter (BiStream → irpc), AuthContext integration, access control checks, the ALPN registration
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This means:
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- The wire format is irpc's EventEnvelope framing — length-prefixed JSON
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- Operation schemas follow irpc's schema model — JSON Schema compatible
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- The TypeScript operation and pub/sub patterns that can import OpenAPI schemas, wrap MCP servers, and expose operations as endpoints are supported at the protocol level — the adapter contract (from_*, to_*) is defined in Rust (see ADR-013)
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- Future NAPI and WASM clients speak the same wire format — alknet-napi projects the Rust call protocol client to Node.js; a browser SDK can be adapted from the existing TypeScript code
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The `VaultProtocol` in alknet-vault previously used irpc as its service
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protocol. ADR-025 dropped irpc from the vault — the vault uses direct method
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calls on `VaultServiceHandle`, not irpc dispatch. irpc remains the
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foundation for alknet-*call* (the call protocol), not for alknet-*vault*.
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See ADR-025 for the rationale (security default inversion: the vault is
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local-only by construction, not remote-capable by default).
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## Consequences
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**Positive:**
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- Proven operation registry and framing — irpc is already tested in production (iroh uses it)
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- JSON Schema compatible — OpenAPI import, MCP tool exposure, cross-language client generation
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- No need to design a custom RPC wire format — irpc's is already battle-tested
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- The call protocol inherits irpc's streaming and subscription patterns
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**Negative:**
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- alknet-call depends on irpc — if irpc has limitations or bugs, we're affected (mitigated: irpc is lightweight and we can fork if needed)
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- JSON framing is not the most compact binary format — for high-throughput scenarios, a binary codec could be added later as an irpc extension
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- irpc's derive macros add a compilation dependency — but this is standard for Rust RPC frameworks
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- The call protocol's cross-language story depends on irpc's wire format being documented and stable (mitigated: it's length-prefixed JSON, which is inherently cross-language)
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## References
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- **Superseding ADR**: [ADR-064](064-irpc-never-integrated-hand-rolled-framing.md) — irpc was never integrated; hand-rolled framing is the actual state
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- ADR-013: Rust as canonical implementation (the `@alkdev/pubsub` prior art the `EventEnvelope` shape was actually derived from)
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- ADR-025: Vault local-only dispatch (dropped irpc from the vault; ADR-064 confirms irpc was never in alknet-call either)
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- Pivot proposal: `docs/research/pivot/alpn-service-architecture.md`
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- ADR-003: Crate decomposition
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- ADR-004: Auth as shared core (IdentityProvider)
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- Call protocol wire format (actual): `crates/alknet-call/src/protocol/wire.rs`
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- The previous architecture had an equivalent decision in ADR-024 (bidirectional call protocol with EventEnvelope framing), which is archived in the reference implementation at `/workspace/@alkdev/alknet-main/`. |